Brush My Hair
by bipbopbamlookatthatlamb24
Summary: When Chat Noir visits Marinette after the Evillustrator, he brushes her hair. With that simple action, he's hurled down a path where he has to choose between his Lady and his Princess. Or does that choice really exist?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I got this idea when I saw a comic. I thought it was super cute. I hope it turned out okay!**

 ***Disclaimer* I don't own any Miraculous Ladybug characters.**

He didn't know why he did it. She was really just an acquaintance. He rationalized it as wanting to make sure she was okay. She'd had a rough day. However, part of him knew that wasn't the whole story. He wanted to see her. There was another part of him that didn't to go. He was betraying his lady. Then there was the part that didn't care. So many pieces of him all taking him into a different direction. One was the strongest though. That bit won and took him to her house.

He dropped silently onto her balcony. The trap door was open, and after only a moment of hesitation, he slid in onto her bed. He was immediately blinded by pink. There was pink everywhere. The second thing he noticed were the pictures. Pictures of him. Well, technically, they were of Adrien. For a moment, he was flattered. Then he saw the notes. Things she liked about the clothes he was modeling, colors that worked together, things she might have done differently. He smiled, almost disappointed. Almost. The third thing he noticed was her.

She was in pajamas that matched her room and had a towel draped across her back. Her dark hair was sopping wet, and she was trying to brush out the mess. Silently creeping down the stairs, he took a deep breath. A sweet scent filled his nose. It smelled like Marinette.

He crept forward towards where she was sitting with her eyes were closed in concentration.

"Princess," he said once he stood directly behind her. He eyes flew open as she gasped in surprise. "Let me help you." He plucked the brush from her hand and started to run it through her hair. His strokes were gentle. She remained stiff for a while before again shutting her eyes. He was able to successfully and (mostly) painlessly detangle her hair, but he kept brushing. The gesture soothed both of them. Then her head droop beneath his claws. She sighed.

"Thanks, Chat. That was so...re...laxing." Her words were punctuated with a yawn and her head drooped again. He watched her start to slowly slide out of the chair and caught her gently.

"Whoa there. I got you." He lifted her in his arms and carried her to her bed. She was already sleeping by the time he laid her down in her bed. Kissing her forehead, he admired the peaceful way she slept. "Sleep tight, Princess." He carefully slid through the trap door onto the balcony and shut it quietly behind him.

He smiled to himself as he journeyed home.

 **There it is! I am seriously thinking about writing more for this, but I have zero idea on where to start next. If I end up writing a second chapter, I'll try to get it posted by next Friday.**

 **Until then, please review! Criticism is always welcome, and I would love input on how this should go.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien blundered out the door and into the car. He'd had almost no sleep at all. The night had been spent pacing the room and trying to sort out his emotions. It wasn't like he liked Marinette. Not as he liked his lady.

No, it was just that he felt like he was betraying his lady. He felt like he shouldn't be visiting another girl behind her back even if it was purely friendship.

He felt infinitely more guilty every time he thought about going back.

And so here he was, blundering to class. He was a little early, so he sat leaned wall, sipping his coffee. The air was slightly chilling, speaking of the winter to come. He didn't know how he was going to face Marinette today.

There were those pieces of him again, all screaming at him to do something different. One bit was telling him he was worrying over nothing. He'd brushed her hair! Granted, they had been in her room alone, but that was beside the point. They didn't see each other like that. They'd really only 'met' the day before. He hugged his coat closer to him as a chill swept across the nearly empty grounds. He finished the coffee and started to walk inside when he saw a strange sight.

Marinette.

What was she doing here so early? She had a strange light in her eyes, and though she looked tired, there was a spring in her step. As he stared at her, he couldn't help but think that this was the first time he'd seen her on time to school except for on the first day of the semester. Then she met his eye.

He saw her confidence start to melt, and he wanted to scream in frustration. Why did she act like this around him?! Why did she treat him this way and Chat another way? Had he scared her that first day? Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he went to talk to her.

"Hey. A little chilly, huh?" That was his opener? He wanted to facepalm. Her teeth started to chatter.

"Y-ya. Ch-chilly is th-the w-weather, I-I mean, weather is the chilly, I-I mean it's not so c-cold when y-you're around because you're hot." He smiled as he watched her chatter through the sentence and wondered why she wasn't wearing a coat. She was obviously freezing judging by her jumble of sentences.

At least, that's what he told himself.

"Come on. You must be really cold." He took off his jacket and placed it on her shoulders keeping his arm draped there to add extra warmth. When he felt her stiffen, he wondered if that had been the wrong move.

This girl was way too complicated for her own good.

As they entered the school, he heard a squeal and a wolf whistle. He felt Marinette stiffen even more (if that was possible) as they turned to see Alya and Nino.

"Marinette, what did you do to him?" Nino asked. Adrien saw Marinette blush bright red out of the corner of his eye.

"Woo! Marinette, is that why you're up so early?" Alya added. Marinette got even redder. Adrien couldn't help noticing how cute she looked when she did that.

"N-no. Adrien has nothing to do with that!" Adrien was confused. Why would she be up to see him? Then he remembered the pictures. Maybe they weren't just for designing notes. If that was all, he might have seen some other models and even pieces of clothing just on their own.

Marinette had a crush on him? There was only too much stuff one guy could take in a 24 hour time span, and apparently he'd reached his limit. He wanted to go home and cool down. But he couldn't. He had to stay right here with his arm around Marinette and pretend he was just being a really nice friend.

Which was exactly what was happening.

"Well, then would you mind telling me why you're up so early?" Alya grinned, thinking she'd trapped the girl.

"Because I didn't sleep much last night." Adrien looked up, surprised. Why was she lying? She'd been out cold. Nothing could've waken her. "I was working on a design." His hair brushing stunt must have affected her more than he thought. Then again, no one would voluntarily reveal that Chat Noir had come brush their hair.

"Well, when you're done with the design, I'd like to see it." His eyes still on Marinette, he saw her look frantically back and forth.

"Ummm...w-well, it's going to be a while." Alya laughed, completely missing Marinette's panic.

"Alright, alright! I bet this one's a doozy." By this time, Alya and Nino were standing right next to Adrien and Marinette. "Come on. Let's get to class. We're going to be late." Adrien walked with Marinette to class. When they got to the door, a loud voice broke through the serene moments he'd been having.

"Adrikins!" Someday, he was going to kill her. "What are you doing with _her_? You don't want to associate with scum designers like that." Chloe ran forward and moved his arm off of Marinette's shoulders. Yup. He was definitely going to kill her. She dragged him forward and plopped him in his seat. "Sooo...yesterday afternoon I was walking in the mall, and I saw this adorable yellow dress…" Adrien zoned out as she launched into one of her long "I saw something adorable, and it took a lot of trouble to get it, but I got it in the end because _everyone_ just loves _moi"_ anecdotes. He could hear Alya fussing over Marinette, and Marinette just brushing her off.

He saw rather than heard Chloe snapping his fingers in front of his face. "What's wrong, Adri-honey? Are you okay?" He wanted to vomit all over that dress she'd bought.

"Hmm? Ya. Sorry. I'm just a little tired. What were you saying? You bought the dress…" He trailed off, letting her finish the thought.

"Well, it's just perfect because…" She broke off as the teacher walked in.

"Chloe, sit down." Chloe huffed to her seat and plopped down. "Thank you. Now today we're going to be learning about…" Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

Adrien rushed home for lunch, not stopping to talk to Nino. He'd noticed Marinette looking at him all day, uncomfortable. He wondered what was on her mind, but right now was not the time to ask her. He had a photo shoot that was going to take the rest of the school day, and he had to hurry and eat so he could get ready.

He wondered if these pictures would end up on Marinette's wall.

* * *

Adrien dropped onto his bed, exhausted. He hurt all over from the positions he'd been forced to hold. No matter how many shoots he did, he would never get used to them. Plagg zoomed out from the basket of dirty clothes in Adrien's closet.

"So, how was your Princess today?" Adrien through a pillow at him. "Aww, is that anyway to greet an old friend?" "Adrien just glared at him and rolled over. He just wanted to go to sleep.

"Shut up, Plagg." Plagg snickered.

"Well, I would, but then I couldn't remind you to do your homework so you can go on patrol." Adrien groaned. Plagg was so annoying about this. It was pretty much the only responsible thing he did for Adrien. He would refuse to let Adrien transform until he had finished a sufficient amount of homework.

"Ugh. I hate you, you know." And he got up to start to do some homework.

A quarter to eight, he got up and stretched. "Okay Plagg," he mumbled sleepily. "Transforme moi." A couple of seconds later, Chat Noir jumped out of Adrien's window. He vaulted through the streets, taking less noticed routes to avoid attention. Finally, he reached the Eiffel Tower, their rendezvous point. Ladybug was sitting on the edge, legs dangling over the streets below.

"Hello, m'lady." He started to bow but was stopped by a large yawn.

"Looks like this cat didn't get enough sleep last night. What did you do?" He hoped she wouldn't hear his heart beating. _Why was he reacting like this?_ he asked for nearly the hundredth time that day. He leaned confidently against the rods behind him and smirked at her.

"Well, you know, this cat's very busy. People just love me under this mask. I bet you would to."

"They admire you at night? Is that because they actually can't stand the sight of you?" she countered. He glared at her.

"No, m'lady. I was catching up on time with friends and school work." She raised an eyebrow. "It's hard work being a superhero and a…" He broke off, appalled that he'd almost told her his occupation. He knew she didn't want that.

"Just can't keep your awesomeness to yourself, can you?"

"You mean _claw_ -someness?" She smacked him. He ignored her. "You think I'm _claw_ -some?! I'm deeply touched." He knelt to kiss her hand, but she pulled away.

"Keep your paws to yourself, kitty. Come on. We have a patrol to do." And she took off.

* * *

Adrien stood at the top of the Eiffel Tower, staring at the city rushing beneath him. They'd finished patrol a while ago, but he hadn't gone home yet. He was tired, and he had homework, but he wanted just a bit more of this freedom. The city was quiet tonight. No Akumas around since the one two days ago. There had been significantly less than normal lately. He had tried to decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

He sighed and started home. He didn't pay attention to where his feet were taking him. He just ran.

Until he ran right past Marinette's roof. Well, he'd almost run right past it. He'd turned around at the last second and dropped onto her balcony. Just like last night, her door was open, beckoning him. Just like last night, he could feel himself being pulled in a thousand different directions. Just like last night, he slipped the door.

Unlike last night, he was noticed right away.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." He balked. He had never heard Marinette speak like this. Ever. "What are you here for?" He hesitated, then motioned to the brush. Her hair was again dripping wet with the towel draped over her shoulder. Just like his jacket had been earlier.

His jacket. He'd totally forgotten about it. He tossed it out of his mind. He'd probe later.

"Brush your hair?" he asked awkwardly. She smiled.

"Are you going to come here every night from now on just to brush my hair?" He started to climb down the stairs while she sat down. He took the brush and started to detangle her wet hair.

"Maybe…" As he stroked her hair, he gazed around the room and found his jacket draped over her chaise. "Is that one of your designs?" he asked as casually as possible. Her eye cracked open, and she turned her head to see what she was pointing at.

"Oh, no. I wish. It's super nice and well designed, but I guess that's what you get from Agreste clothing. It's a friend's. Well, he's not really a friend. More of an acquaintance. I want to be his friend." Her head dropped into her hands. "It's complicated." He started brushing her hair again.

"A lot of things are complicated. I've run into a problem myself." _And you're part of it like I'm a part of your problem,_ he thought to himself. "I wish it could just detangle itself. I guess you just got to really work to brush it out. Others can always help you, but sometimes you just got to do it yourself." He handed the brush back to her. She smiled up at him.

"Did you just make my brush an object lesson?" He smiled at her.

"Maybe…" She reached up and brushed out the final tangles.

"That's the second time you've said that. Are you always this uncertain?" His grin grew.

"Maybe…" He ducked as she threw her brush at him. It crashed loudly against the wall.

"Marinette? Is everything okay up there?" He cringed at her father's voice.

"Guess I'd better bail then, huh?" He heard steps coming closer. "Tomorrow then?" She smiled as she walked over to pick up the brush.

"Sure. This time works perfectly." He used his staff to propel himself up to her bed.

"As you wish, Princess." His tail was barely out before he heard Marinette's parents enter her bedroom.

Perhaps he could deal with this after all.

 **So, I ended up writing this chapter in one sitting a couple of days ago. I didn't expect it to come so easily...I hope it turned out well.**

 **Please review! As always, criticism is welcome, and I would love to know where you see this going. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

The next day Adrien walked into class, giddy from the night before. He had slept better. It seemed that just telling himself that he liked Marinette had relieved him rather than added the stress he'd been stressing about. He was pulled out of his train of thought when the teacher started class.

About five minutes into class, Marinette came in. Well, came is a rather calm word. "Burst" describes her entrance better. She ran in with a croissant in her mouth. The warm smell wafted through the air, and Adrien recognized it from his previous nights there.

"I'm so sorry! I slept in!" The teacher just sort of stared at Marinette.

"That's what you said yesterday." Marinette opened her mouth to speak but closed it soon after, looking put down. Adrien knew what she had been about to say. He knew Alya was probably opening her mouth to say the same thing. Adrien beat them both.

"Excuse me, Miss. Marinette was on time yesterday. She didn't need to give an excuse." The whole class fell silent. Adrien rarely spoke except when called on. He was the perfect student. Even the teacher seemed a little caught off guard. Then she composed herself.

"You're right, Adrien. Excuse me, Marinette. Just please try to be on time tomorrow." Marinette nodded fervently. Adrien watched her wobble to her desk. He heard her sit heavily. Alya started whispering excitedly to her. Marinette would moan or sigh every now and then, but other than that she was silent. Adrien wondered what they were talking about.

* * *

After class, Adrien packed up quickly and headed out the door. He was stopped by Marinette coming up to him. Her face was red, and her hands were twisting anxiously together. His jacket was draped over her arm. He smiled warmly at her, about to launch into a flirtatious round of puns when he remembered he wasn't Chat.

That was a little too close for comfort.

"H-hey, A-Adrien." With the knowledge of her crush on him in mind, her stuttering seemed to irritate him less. Not that her stuttering had been irritating. It was the fact that he didn't know what he had done to make her stutter that had been irritating. "I-I-I...th-thanks f-for the c-coaterup I mean coat and covering I mean…" She stopped and hung her head. Adrien placed a hand on her chin and lifted her head up.

"Thanks for the coat and the cover up?" he asked her gently. She stiffened just as she had yesterday and once again became as red as Ladybug's suit if not redder. The color suited her. He could almost imagine her wearing it...before he could fully envision her in the Ladybug outfit, she started to hand him the jacket. He took it from her, releasing his hold on her chin. She giggled.

"Ya. That." He smiled at her.

"Thanks for giving it back." She seemed to bask in his words. They stood there for a moment. Her eyes raked over his face. He couldn't help remembering the feel of her hair beneath his paws. He wondered what it would feel like beneath his bare hand. The moment was shattered when the warning bell rang.

"See ya toni-tomorrow, Marinette. See ya tomorrow." Great job, Agreste. Really smooth. Luckily, she didn't seem to notice.

"Y-ya. S-see ya." And she practically raced to class.

* * *

Adrien got home after school thoroughly exhausted. He just wanted to sleep, but he had Chinese today and homework and patrol not to mention he'd promised to visit Marinette.

Then he heard the scream. An Akuma? He sighed. Chinese lessons would have to wait.

"Plagg! Transforme moi!" In a flash, Adrien was Chat Noir, and he was running towards the direction of the terrified screams.

When he arrived, he was so blinded by light, he couldn't see what was going on. Screams of pain resounded through the streets as people fell to the ground, clutching at their eyes. Adrien wanted to scream in frustration and cry from the pain. He covered his eyes with his tail, but it wasn't enough. He placed both hands over his eyes. Someone poked him, and he reached out to claw them, hissing. The person jumped backward.

"Woah there, kitty. Just trying to help." He recognized his lady's voice and instantly felt better. She pushed something into his hands. "Put them on." He just stood there, not wanting to move for fear of the light. "They're sunglasses. They really work. Trust me." Those last two words were all he needed. In a few quick, painful seconds, he had the sunglasses on. They immediately took the light to a normal level, allowing him to concentrate.

"I apologize, m'lady. It won't happen again." He bowed and tried to kiss her hand, but she pulled away, shaking her head.

"We have to worry about this Akuma. Come on." They started to race across the city towards where the screams were pulling them. Adrien admired the grace at which his lady ran and jumped and swung herself across the rooftops. Several times he stumbled when he spent too long concentrating on her and not his footing.

"May I ask where you got these fabulous sunglasses?" She rolled her eyes. Then he heard a sound that stopped him cold.

A shrill beeping. He looked down at his racing paws and saw nothing wrong with the green paws on his Miraculous.

"M'lady?" he asked with a warning tone. He understood the need for the glasses, but he also knew that he couldn't defeat the Akuma without her. She sighed. "How much time do you have left?"

"Nearly three minutes. Just distract her while I go find Tikki some cookies." She continued running with him. He glanced at her expectantly. "Where do I find cookies at a time like this?" Adrien smiled at her.

"You could always go to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. I find their cookies very satisfying." Ladybug tripped and skidded across one of the roofs. Adrien stopped and went to help her up. She pushed him off.

"No! You need to go!" Picking herself up, she turned in the general direction of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. "I think I'll take your advice. Their cookies are quite superb." Her smile and wink seemed to have hidden meaning as she raced off, another beep following her.

Adrien stared after her for only a second before starting off to get the Akuma.

He kind of lost track of the fight. He'd place a kick here, a punch there. The jokes he made were flat and emotionless. He kept on worrying about his lady, all alone without her earrings activated. The worry spurred him to keep going. He'd located the gadget that the Akuma was lodged in. It was a necklace with a sun charm on it. The charm was the source of the blinding light.

It seemed an eternity before Ladybug finally showed up. There was no beeping following her around, no spots missing on her earrings. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"My, aren't I glad to see your _radiant_ face. I don't think I can hold her off much longer." Ladybug immediately jumped into the fray.

It was only minutes later when the two finally beat the Akuma. It always amazed him how much he actually needed his lady. As she started leaving, he grabbed her arm.

"M'lady, wait." He pulled her closer with little resistance. His hand automatically went to brush through her hair. The hair that only now he realized was so much like Marinette's. She jerked away from his touch.

"What, Chat?" There was an edge to her voice that chilled Adrien to the core. He wanted to run, hide, take shelter. However, he put on a sweet smile.

"You fought beautifully today, m'lady. It was _claw_ -some." She seemed to soften a bit before turning without a word. Her earrings beeped, but they didn't carry the dread from earlier. Not too long afterwards, his ring beeped.

"Chat, maybe we should skip patrol tonight. There isn't going to be much. Not after this Akuma." Adrien was astonished. He had never thought his lady would cancel patrol. Even after an Akuma attack. "Plus, I've got a load on my mind...I-I just…" Her ring sounded again. "Listen, I've got to go. Tomorrow though." She nervously glanced at Adrien. He wondered what was on her mind.

"M'lady, do you want to talk? You seem bothered by something." His ring beeped. She shook her head.

"No. See you toni-tomorrow, Chat." He heard the hint of tonight but thought nothing of it. He nodded, and she took off.

* * *

That night, Adrien tried to wait to visit Marinette. He normally went right after patrol, but since Ladybug had cancelled it, he couldn't keep himself anchored to his homework. Finally he threw down his pencil in frustration.

"Forget it. Plagg, transforme moi." He was to Marinette's house in less than a minute, taking a little bit of time strolling through the park, gathering his thoughts. He got to Marinette's nearly an hour before he normally did. He waited on top of the balcony for only a moment, contemplating whether or not to enter and realized that some time between the Akuma fight earlier that day and this point, the pieces of him had somehow united into two distinct, relatively balanced halves. One half pulled him home, thinking about his lady.

The other half compelled him to enter her room.

Marinette sat at her table, her hair and towel placed just as the nights before. Apparently, she'd also had a let up in the schedule. She was focusing intently upon something in front of her. Adrien quietly crept up to her. His foot trailed a little longer along the ground, and she looked up, seeing him in the mirror.

"Trying to scare me, _chaton_?" He smiled mischievously and opened his mouth to speak. "Never mind. Don't answer that." Marinette went back to whatever she was working on. Stepping closer, Adrien saw a design appearing slowly in the sketchbook Marinette had in her hands.

"What's this?" She looked at him.

"Oh, this? Just a design I've started working on. My friend is expecting something spectacular. I've got to deliver." Looking closer, he saw it was a suit, but it had several modifications on it.

"Hey! That looks like something I could wear!" Indeed it was. It had the addition of cat ears and a tail with a little pinch of green on the vest and tie. She seemed to blush a little.

"Ya. I kind of decided to design you and Ladybug something. I don't know how I'd ever give it to you, and I wonder if you could wear it since you're always in costume, but I thought it would be nice." She bit her lip, the pencil quivering in her grip. Adrien placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I think it looks wonderful. I can't wait to see what you do for my lady." Marinette stiffened ever so slightly. Adrien didn't notice, instead picking up the brush and going to work.

She drew. He brushed. They talked about life. Well, she talked about life. He just listened. He couldn't really talk about his life. Not without revealing the secret his lady tried so hard to conceal. Then a question from her came out of the blue, catching him off guard.

"So, how's Ladybug?" The question seemed to imply that it wasn't only Ladybug she was talking about. He shrugged, absently running his fingers through her hair. He'd pulled up a chair a couple of minutes ago and was leaning in slightly to watch her design. Neither of them commented on how he was a little closer than necessary.

"She's Ladybug. Stubborn, fierce, loyal, and absolutely amazing." Marinette was looking at him now. "She's the most amazing person I've ever met. I'd never want anyone else to have been picked to take on the role. She has all the passion, all the confidence I lack." He sighed and bowed his head, his arm dropping. "I'm mostly in it to escape from the obligations of life. I couldn't ever do it just because Paris needs me." He could feel tears start to well in his eyes. "The name they gave her fits perfectly. The Miraculous Ladybug. She's more miraculous than anyone could imagine." Marinette was silent. Then he felt arms around him, pulling him close. He rested a head on her shoulder, tears starting to fall.

"I don't think that's true. Ladybug couldn't do it without you. You keep her going. I bet she feels the same way for you, she just doesn't show it." Through his gentle tears, he couldn't hear Marinette's slight edge in her voice, the shudder that passed through her body. Her hands stroked his hair. "I don't believe you're as selfish as you claim to be. I think you're just wonderful." And they just stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity. At last, Adrien pulled his head back.

"What did I do to deserve such miraculous women in my life?" She could sense his push at making light of the situation.

"I told you. You're more than you think you are. It's not just the Miraculous Ladybug. It's the Miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noir. Her partner. Her friend." He smiled.

"Thank you, Marinette." Her hand reached up and brushed a tear away. That was when Adrien realized how close they were. He could feel her breath on his face. He felt one half of him pulling him forward. Before he could contemplate the action however, he heard a voice from downstairs.

"Marinette, it's 11:30. Stop drawing and get to bed!" The moment was broken and he pulled away. He couldn't believe it. He'd really only known her for three nights. She'd only known him for three nights. He'd been here way too long. He got up and moved away.

"See ya tomorrow?" The girl nodded, her now dry hair bouncing with the movement.

"I look forward to it." He started to climb through the door. "And Chat?" He looked back. "You're just as miraculous as she is." With that, she went back to drawing. He smiled and vanished into the night.

 **Don't forget to review! Tell me how I'm doing, what you'd like to see, and what you didn't particularly enjoy about the chapter. Every little word helps me.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

The next day passed normally. Adrien found it harder to keep his mind off Marinette. Thoughts of Marinette would always lead into thoughts about Ladybug, and then he'd be in a spiral of emotions, the two halves of him playing tug-o-war with his soul. After school he waited by the front door for the Gorilla. He watched Nino hug Alya good-bye. Adrien smiled. If only it was that easy for him.

His eye caught Marinette's who was standing behind the oblivious couple. He winked, and she blushed bright red. Adrien felt like laughing, but before he could start, he got a call from Nathalie.

"Adrien?" Her voice sounded frantic.

"Nathalie! What's wrong?" A faint wisp of laughter came over the phone.

"You don't need to worry. There was just a slight hiccup in communication so you have the afternoon off." Adrien smiled and waved Nino over.

"Thanks, Nathalie."

"You're welcome, Adrien. Your father just doesn't want you to be out too late."

"I'll be home for dinner. Later, Nathalie." A slight chuckle.

"Goodbye, Adrien." He hung up the phone and turned to Nino with a huge grin on his face. Nino smiled as well. This could only be good news.

"What's up?"

"I have the afternoon off!" Nino lit up and gave Adrien a high-five.

"Nice! You're coming over right?"

"Of course! I'm not going back to my house if I can help it."

"Great! I need help on maths...and grammar...and history…" Adrien laughed as the two friends started walking home.

"You mean you need someone to play video games with." Nino nodded sheepishly. Adrien laughed harder.

As they passed the park, he heard a loud bout of laughter coming from that direction. He broke from his conversation with Nino and turned his head to see Marinette and Alya messing around. He smiled at the sight of the flushed Marinette, red-faced from running and laughter instead of embarrassment this time. A pair of fingers snapped in front of his face.

"Hey, man. You okay?" Adrien turned to his friend.

"Ya. Ya. Sorry, I just got distracted." He scratched his neck uncomfortably as Nino looked past his shoulder to the two girls.

"Wait...YOU WERE STARING AT MARINETTE!?" Adrien clapped a hand over Nino's mouth and dragged him down the street, away from the park.

"Quiet down, will you?" His friend just smiled giddily.

"Ah, man, wait 'till I tell Alya. She'll freak!" Adrien shook his head frantically.

"You can't tell Alya! Besides, it's not like that." He started walking distractedly as if running from the accusation. He got to Nino's house and let himself in, climbing the stairs. Nino ran in seconds later, slammed the door, and dumped his books on the bed.

"Dude, it is so like that! I saw the way you were looking at her. It's what you look like when you think about Ladybug." Adrien blushed furiously. "Have you finally given up on that fantasy?"

"No. I just...ugh. Why do you make this so complicated?" He buried his face in his hands.

"Me making this complicated? Man, you're the one complicating things! You do realize Ladybug is completely out of your league, right?" Adrien raised an eyebrow behind his hands. "Besides Marinette lo…"

"Loves me? I know." Nino gawked. The blonde put his hands down and rolled his eyes. "How could I have not known? It's as secret as my Ladybug obsession." His friend stalked to where he was sitting and slapped him across the face.

"Who are you and what have you done with Adrien Agreste? My Adrien would never admit he likes Ladybug. Seriously, if this is what Marinette does to you, I don't know why Alya and I haven't tried harder to get you guys together." Adrien just smiled and picked up a controller to Nino's game console.

"Listen, just forget it. It's nothing. Really." Nino just cocked his eyebrow and picked up another controller.

They played for about an hour in silence, concentrating hard on the game. Then Nino leaned over to Adrien.

"So...Marinette, huh?" Adrien lost control of his character which plummeted off a cliff giving Nino the victory.

 **I am so so sorry for the short chapter! This week's been kind of a crazy week.**

 **Don't forget to review! Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, and anything you really look forward to happening!  
**

 **Thank you all for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

Adrien transformed and went off into the night, skipping over the rooftops towards Ladybug. He'd been going crazy since they'd decided to not do patrol. He'd enjoyed his longer visit with Marinette, but it felt the more time he spent with her, the more his thoughts were turned to her. He hadn't checked the Ladyblog that day.

He always did that after school.

Granted, he'd been at Nino's, but he could have checked there. Maybe. He was drawn out of his thoughts by the sight of his lady standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower. He dropped down next to her. She flinched slightly.

"Sorry to _drop_ in. I didn't mean to scare you." She just stood there. "M'lady? Are you alright?" He went up to her side and peered at the city. "What are you looking at?" She just shook her head.

"Chat, what do you do if you really like someone but you may or may not be falling in love with someone else?" She looked up at him, big blue eyes peering at him from underneath her mask. He was taken aback. Who knew she would have the same problem?

"Well, I guess it depends on who the people in question are." Her gaze dropped briefly.

"One's just a crush. He's always been super nice but never really paid attention to me. The second...he's just a really good friend. I've known him for a while." Her gaze flicked back up to meet his. "I would trust him with my life." Adrien became very aware of how close he was to those large blue eyes. One half of him screamed at him to remember a girl sitting in her room, sketching and waiting for him to come brush her hair. He ignored it.

"You're asking me this?" She smiled, but the action didn't quite reach her eyes. Adrien leaned in a little closer. He could feel his heart beating faster, and in that moment, he felt like he'd made a decision to love Ladybug.

"Who else would I ask? You'd know..." She broke off, panic rising in her eyes. He started, nearly falling off the Tower. He regained his balance and turned to face her. She'd backed away, her face still displaying blind panic.

"Me? What would I know? I only love you, Ladybug!" As he spoke, he felt as if he were more trying to reassure himself than the girl in front of him. She shook her head still backing away.

"I'm sorry. I didn't...I didn't think. I didn't mean that. I...we should get started on patrol." And with that, she took out her yo-yo and swung away.

He stared after her retreating figure. What had gotten into her? He shook his head. She just must be stressed.

And he _did_ know how it felt.

* * *

Adrien contemplated long and hard on whether to visit Marinette or not. His conversation with Ladybug had done nothing to calm his nerves. Still, she was expecting him. He couldn't just leave her hanging. He could tell her he was too busy and then promise to come tomorrow.

Ya. That's what he'd do.

He dropped quietly onto her bed. She was sitting down, focusing intently on something. Her hair was dripping wet. Did she wash her hair _every_ night? He clambered down and saw her working on the same design from last night. However, it looked different. Cleaner, less notes.

"What happened to it?" She flinched, her pencil making a long line in the paper. He remembered Ladybug's flinch from earlier. He had to quit sneaking up on girls.

"I started a new page. The old one wasn't working out." The changes were minimal, and he couldn't understand why she didn't just erase or something. Adrien opened his mouth to tell her he couldn't stay when she flipped to a different page in the book. The beginnings of a dress were appearing on the page. He watched Marinette draw for about three seconds before she stopped. She reached over, picked up her brush, and handed it to the boy. Then she resumed her drawing.

He brushed her hair gently, wanting the moment to last forever. He felt certain now that he wanted to love Marinette.

As he watched, the dress continued to be shaped. He watched as it went from a v-neck barely reaching the knees, to a floor-length thing with a sweetheart neckline. (He knew the terms from modeling.) The color scheme was always the same, but it varied on specifics. Sometimes the red had black polkadots all over it, sometimes it sported a black ribbon around the waist.

Finally she seemed to stick with something. It was a knee length with sleeves that hung off the shoulders. She had settled on a sweetheart neckline that had black embroidery following it. Black polka dots covered the red dress. His hands dropped to his side as she started to make notes around the design.

"Wow. That's for my lady?" She nodded slowly. "How are you going to get her measurements?" Marinette looked up.

"I'm sure I'm close to her size." Her eyes smiled.

"Ah." He looked her up and down. "Ya. You guys seem to be pretty similar in size." Her lips twitched slightly.

"Someday I need to get your measurements for your suit." The thought of that made Adrien smile.

"The pleasure is all mine. May I ask when we will wear this?"

"Well, your Chat, I...she's Ladybug. You guys are bound to be invited to a formal party and you can't show up wearing your regular costumes."

"What's wrong with them?" He looked down at his tight, black leather suit.

"Nothing. They're just not formal enough."

"But my lady wishes to keep our identities a secret. We can't be seen in public without our "costumes" as you say."

"I can design masks to go with the clothing. Besides, I don't know if this will actually work. It's just an idea." He looked down at the dress she was working on.

"I want to see my lady in that. She'd look absolutely stunning. Princess, work your magic." He smiled and kissed her knuckles. "Tomorrow?" She hesitated.

"Ya. I'll see you tomorrow Chat."

* * *

Adrien woke to Plagg tugging at his hair. He'd stayed at Marinette's a little longer than he'd expected, and he'd still had homework so now he was exceptionally tired.

"Get up, lazy bones. You have to go to school." Adrien groaned and slapped Plagg away. He had almost fallen asleep again when he heard a voice over the intercom.

"Adrien, you have to get up now. You have a photo shoot in two hours, and you have to get ready." He groaned and rolled out of bed, heading to the intercomm.

"Coming."

He quickly got dressed and ran downstairs. Nathalie was waiting impatiently.

"Adrien, you look exhausted! Are you alright?" Adrien shrugged her off.

"I'm fine. Let's just go."

The photoshoot was long and grueling. During a break near the end of the shoot, Adrien got a text.

Alya - where r u? we need 2 talk

Adrien groaned. Nino had told Alya about yesterday. She was never going to let this go.

Adrien - photoshoot whats up?

Alya - nothing just hurry

Adrien - ha. i can hurry a shoot

Alya - yes :)

An hour later Adrien headed off for the second half of the school day. He got onto campus early and saw Alya talking to Marinette. He really wanted to avoid the conversion for as long as possible, but Alya spotted him and ran over. Marinette stayed where she was, staring shyly at her feet. Alya grabbed Adrien by the collar and dragged him into the school pushing him into a secluded corner.

"What happened yesterday?!" Adrien stared coolly at her.

"I don't know what you mean." Alya sighed impatiently.

"Oh my gosh Adrien, don't play dumb with me. Nino told me what happened. Do or do you not like Marinette?"

"No. Yes. I don't know, Alya." He buried his face in his hands. "Can you please drop it? It was a spur of the moment thing." She moved his hands roughly away and pulled up his face to look into his eyes.

"No, it wasn't. Trust me. I can see it in your eyes. Just tell me this. Does you liking her have anything to do with her crush on you?"

"Alya, is this really what this is all about? You think I'm taking advantage of Marinette? Listen, I didn't know she like me until just recently. Until after I started liking her." He shuffled uncomfortably. "I know a lot of girls with crushes on me, and I don't go after them." Alya's gaze softened.

"Right, sorry. I just...Marinette really likes you. If you break her heart, I will murder you very painfully." Adrien nodded.

"Alya, please don't do anything stupid. I don't know really yet. I don't want to get her hopes up." Alya nodded in return.

"You really do care." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. He glared at her and opened his mouth to say something but closed it as Marinette came up. He settled with a light punch to Alya's shoulder and a warning glance before turning to Marinette.

"Hey, Marinette! How's the de...how're you doing?" He cringed at her quizzical glance. He'd have to be more careful than that.

"I-I'm okay." She was quivering.

"You look tired." He studied the bags underneath her blue eyes. Blue eyes he thought he recognized except these were full of panic and concern.

"I haven't been getting much sleep." She said a whole sentence. A whole sentence without stuttering. He smiled.

"I know how that feels. What's been keeping you up?" Marinette squeaked. He didn't know if it was because she'd just remembered who he was or if she was worried she'd tell him about Chat. Alya sensed the tension and stepped in.

"Little Miss Workaholic here has started a new design and is too excited to stop thinking and get to sleep." Adrien remembered the design from last night and how long it had taken her to just get to where she was now.

"I can't wait to see it."

"W-well, it's gonna while a take."Adrien laughed at the stutter, and a blush rose in her cheeks. Adrien was immediately caught up in the beauty that astounded him every night. Just then, the bell rang.

"Looks like class is about to start." Alya seemed disappointed at having to shatter the moment. "Come on."

They walked to class, Marinette tripping over herself several times when Adrien spoke to her.

The class dragged on endlessly. Towards the end, Adrien perked up as the teacher started to talk about what seemed to be a death sentence.

"For the end of semester project, we will be doing a report on a topic of your choice. I will have to approve it though." Adrien looked at Nino and smiled. This didn't sound so bad after all. "Because you are allowed to choose the topics, I will choose the groups." Adrien's jaw dropped, and he glanced across the room at Chloe. If he got stuck with her… "You will have to write an essay on your topic and then create a presentation to share with the class." Adrien groaned and put his head on the desk.

The bell rang, and Adrien reluctantly got up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. He walked out the door, ready to talk to Nino about the project when he heard a scream.

Not now.

 **Don't forget to review! If anyone has any Akuma ideas, let me know. Tell me what you liked or didn't like and anything you may be looking forward to.**

 **Until next week!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the late update! I might make it up to you guys someday!**

Adrien rushed to transform when he felt a hand grab his arm. He turned around to see Nino clutching him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Adrien said the first thing that popped into this mind.

"To find Marinette." Nino released Adrien in surprise. Adrien tried in vain to cover his tracks.

"You should go find Alya."

"Won't they most likely be together?" But he was too late. Adrien was already far ahead of him. An announcement came over the speakers stating that the Akuma attack was close to the school, and that all students needed to go into the nearest classroom immediately. Adrien ignored the requests and ran into the bathroom. It was empty due to the chaos outside.

"Plagg, transforme moi!" Adrien transformed into a flash of light and jumped out of the bathroom window. He ran against the tide of screaming people along the roofs. Finally he came to a clear section of town. Ladybug was already there, her yo-yo twirling in her grip. Adrien dropped in next to her.

"Where is it?" He didn't know why he whispered. Perhaps it was the deathly silence that surrounded them broken only by shouts in the distance.

"I don't know. As far as I can tell, it's some sort of chameleon." A low laugh startled both of them.

"Clever girl. I am Chameleon, and no one will be able to hurt me because they can't find me." Adrien turned towards the voice. It was low, quiet, and female. A shudder passed through the duo.

"Chameleon. That's a clever name." Adrien could hear the slight tremor in his clumsy attempt to lighten the situation. A hiss sounded behind him. Whipping around, he caught a glimpse of something moving, but it disappeared when he tried to get a closer look. His eyes met Ladybug's. Fear resided in the corner of the beautiful blue eyes that reminded him so much of…

He heard another sound again from behind him. Footsteps coming closer. He turned to meet them, baton raised in the air, ready to strike his opponent. However, the weapon was lowered when a very welcome sight greeted his own.

"Marinette?" The girl was tattered, little scratches coating her arms, legs, and face. Her clothes were shredded and tear streaks shone on her cheeks. She wobbled towards them.

"Ch-Chat." Her voice was raspy, and Adrien could barely hear her. Running towards her, he ignored the sharp intake of breath that came from Ladybug.

"Marinette!" She collapsed into his arms, shivering. He ran a hand through her mussed up hair, the pony-tails undone during the struggle. "Marinette, what happened?" She sobbed into his shoulder, and he continued to stroke her hair calmingly. "Shhhh, Princess. I'm here." Her face lifted and eyes peered at him. Eyes so full of fear.

"Sh-she attacked m-me. Ch-chameleon." She put her head back on his shoulder as another wave of terror seized her.

"You're okay. I'm here. We'll get you home." It was only then that he remembered Ladybug standing behind him. Supporting Marinette with his arm around her waist and her arm around his waist, he walked toward his partner. She was staring incredulously at Marinette. "What's wrong, m'lady?" Adrien could feel heat rise to his cheeks at the awkwardness of his situation, sandwiched between the girl he loved and the girl he really, really liked.

"Put her down, Chat. That's not who you think it is." Adrien snorted.

"Oh, really? How would you know?" Ladybug hesitated. "Exactly. Come on. We have to get her home." He started to walk out of the square when Ladybug grabbed his arm.

"Chat, I'm serious. That's not Marinette. I think that's the Akuma."

"No, it's not." Adrien tightened his grip on Marinette. He felt her arm shift, and anger bubbled in his chest. Why was Ladybug so adamant to get him away from Marinette?

"Chat! Look out!" He made to spin violently when he saw the flash of her yo-yo out of the corner of his eye. It flew as if in slow motion and hit Marinette square in the face. He felt her hand slide across his hand though he couldn't remember her putting it there. Then his heart stopped. The familiar feeling of his ring pushed all the onto his finger was gone. It was now hanging precariously on his fingertip. He pushed the ring back on his finger quickly before facing Marinette.

"What were you thinking?! If you wanted to know who I am, you could've just asked!" That's when he noticed the gloves. Slim, black gloves that covered her hands. A confused expression crossed his face. Marinette started to laugh.

"Oh, you really are dumb, aren't you? You should've listened to your girlfriend." He cringed at the word. Marinette started to fade, blending into the background. Only the gloves stayed the same. "I'm Chameleon. You can't find me." Keeping his eyes glued to the gloves, he followed her movements as they slithered across the wall. He felt Ladybug come stand behind him.

"Ladybug…" She waved a hand, cutting him off.

"Later." Her voice was strained, and Adrien wanted to console her right then. However, he listened to her and closed his mouth. "Keep you eyes on those gloves." Adrien nodded and felt Ladybug step back.

"Lucky Charm!" A flash of light lit up the small square. "What am I supposed to do with this?!"

"What is it?" His eyes were still following the gloves. She ignored him.

"Where is she?" Adrien lifted his arm and pointed at the gloves that now sat stationary, gripping the wall.

"What are you going to do with that, sweetie?" The shrill tone bit into Adrien.

"You'll see." Suddenly, a length of rope shot out from behind him. It looped itself around the gloves nicely (it _was_ magic rope) and pulled tight. Ladybug yanked on the rope, pulling Chameleon off the wall. The girl slid across the floor, still the color of the wall. "Chat! The gloves!" He leapt forward, activating Cataclysm.

"Which one?" He looked back at Ladybug's panic filled face.

"Can you hit them both at the same time?" Adrien shrugged.

"I can try." Spreading his hand out, he gripped the gloves, careful not to touch her skin. They both disintegrated, the Akuma flying out of the ashes. "Ladybug!"

It took only a few short moments for the Akuma to be cleansed and the city put back in order (though nothing had really been destroyed). The girl had run off, and now the duo was alone. Adrien's ring beeped. Ladybug walked over to him.

"So, Marinette, huh?" Adrien gaze hardened.

"No, m'lady. I love only you." He looked over at her to see her staring intently at him. He had to convince her. He had to convince himself. So he kissed her.

It was light at first, but then she accepted it. His hand went to her hair, this feeling better than just brushing. He could feel her hands in his hair, on his ears. The kiss deepened until a loud beep echoed through the empty square. Ladybug pulled back, breathing deeply. Adrien could feel his heart pounding.

"I-I'll see ya tomorrow, Ch-Chat." She started off.

"No patrol?" His words made her stop.

" _Chaton_ , I'm tired. I have work. Not tonight." And with that she swung off.

Adrien was left with the ghost of the kiss on his lips and a deep pit inside him as he wondered if he'd just made everything worse.

* * *

He delayed going to Marinette's that night. It didn't quite feel right. However, he wanted to make sure she was okay. Even if it had only been the Akuma that had been hurt.

She was sitting on the chaise, a laptop on her lap, intensely concentrating on the screen before her. Adrien immediately went to the desk, grabbed the brush, and started brushing her hair. As he brushed, each stroke digging deeper into his torn heart, he watched her scroll through a list of recent news, hotly debated topics, and current culture from around the world.

"What's this?"

"A project for school. My teacher each assigned us partners, and we have to find and present a topic of interest in an essay and creative way. I'm starting my search with recent topics. I might meander my way through history later." Already starting? Adrien smiled and put down the brush, his work done.

"Shouldn't your partner be helping you?" he asked as he walked around the chaise to sit next to her. Heat rose to her cheeks.

"Well, technically the project hasn't started yet. We don't get partners until next week. I'm just getting a head start in case I get an incompetent partner. Like Chloe." Adrien wanted to laugh as he plopped down, head hanging over her shoulder, his hand still running through her hair.

"Ooh! That looks interesting!" He pointed to a headline that read something about a UFO being filmed after the aliens were summoned. Marinette laughed.

"Ya. That'd be fun to read up on." She continued to click around, each of them laughing at other absurd headlines.

"How about real life zombies?" Marinette shook her head.

"Nah. I'd rather read about trees on Mars." She laughed again. "Can you believe people fall for this stuff?" Adrien rolled his eyes, then paused.

"Oh! I know! You could do a report on me and Ladybug!" His pulled his hand from her hair and stood up, eyes shining. "It's perfect! I'm right here. Interview me!"

"Alright, alright. How did you come across your powers?" Adrien frowned. "Okay. Wrong question. What's it like saving Paris all the time?" A mischievous smile chased the frown away.

"Well, it's pretty amazing. Everyone knows me, the ladies love me, and I can spend time with Ladybug. Plus, it's fun to compete with the model on who can put up the most posters."

"Model?"

"Oh yes. I believe you have his face decorating your walls and not a single picture of me." He clucked his tongue. "Traitor." Marinette giggled. "I mean look at me!" He went and stood next to her larger poster of himself. "Don't we look alike? Why don't you fancy me as well?" Adrien wanted to punch himself. This was way too risky, way to close. Marinette cocked her head as if studying the two.

"No. Adrien Agreste is way more attractive than you are." He tried to suppress a smile.

"Is that so?" He turned to look at the poster. "His face turns a lot of girls' heads his way. Even my lady's." He sighed.

"So Ladybug likes Adrien then?"

"As far as I can tell. When she thought he was in danger during Volpina's attack…" He shook his head.

"Okay. So you like Ladybug?" He snorted.

"Like is an understatement. I love her. She's amazing and the world to me. I wish she would glance more my way." He scratched the back of his head. Marinette put the computer down and crossed over to Adrien's side. Taking his hand she peered deeply into his eyes.

"You really love her." It was stated as a fact on a report, set in stone, immovable. He nodded, staring into those giant blue eyes. He was entranced as they seemed to pull him forward. Suddenly, she cleared her throat and looked away. ""This is a little more personal than I intended. Sorry."

"It's fine." She let go of his hand. "You can ask me anything you want." He winked.

"So you won't mind if I ask if you and Ladybug have ever kissed?" He started, thoughts immediately turning towards earlier that day. The memory of the kiss came back in full force but an overpowering urge to not tell Marinette, to not let the Ladyblog get the "scoop" as Alya would say caused him to pull back, shaking his head.

"N-no." Even he knew it was too hasty of a reply to be the truth. He could almost see the terror, not disappointment in his face. The designer's gaze softened.

"No?"

"Marinette, if the Ladyblog ever finds out, Ladybug will be ruined. She would hate me for telling everyone. She just wants us to be seen as friends. I think the Agreste boy has her head turned too far away for her to want anyone to see us as lovers. It was a mistake." He shook his head and turned to the window. "She'll never want to see me again. It was rash and stupid." Adrien opened the window and looked out into the night.

"Chat!"

"Marinette, I think I should go. For good." Turning, he saw the pained expression on her face. He reached out and grasped a tendril of hair that was hanging in front of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. "Thank you for letting me brush your hair." He jumped out of her window and started towards his house.

He didn't look back.

 **There you have it! Thanks to eatfangirlwrite and the guest who suggested the Mocker and Chameleon Akumas respectively. I kind of combined the ideas into my own thing.**

 **Don't forget to review! Tell me what you liked and didn't like. Don't hold back on criticism. I'll try my hardest to listen to your ideas.**

 **Last thing. I might have a late update next week. I'll try my hardest to update on time but don't expect it.**

 **I love you guys! Thank you so much!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the late update!**

Adrien walked into class, exhausted. He was thirty minutes late due to oversleeping. He wore the same clothes as the day before (too tired to change last night and too late to change this morning), and his hair was disheveled. Nathalie had commented on the bags under his eyes, worried about the photo-shoot that was the next day.

He hadn't had more than an hour of sleep. He kept thinking about his Princess and his Lady. He had a nightmare where they both screamed at him to make a decision, to stop making them both hurt. He caught Marinette's eye right before he sat down. She seemed to be better off than he was, but her eyes were puffy and red. Had he made her cry? He groaned and put his head down on his desk. He couldn't live if he'd made a girl as sweet as Marinette cry.

"Adrien, if you're going to walk in late, at least give a little effort to pay attention." His head snapped up at the teacher's words.

"Sorry, sir. I mean, ma'am." The class tittered behind him.

"Do you want detention?" Adrien shook his head.

"No, ma'am. I apologize. It won't happen again." She glared at him for a moment before turning back to talking about some important fact or another. Nino leaned over.

"Dude, what's up?"

"I couldn't sleep." Nino smiled mischievously.

"Marinette on your mind?" The light hearted remark made Adrien want to throw up. His friend had no idea. He must have showed his emotions because Nino's grin faded. "Man. I didn't know liking a girl could lead to so much heartache." Adrien sighed.

"You really have no idea."

* * *

After class, Adrien stayed behind to ask the teacher what he'd missed. As he walked out of the classroom, pride stinging from the reprimand he'd received, he ran right into Marinette.

"Oh, gosh. Are you okay?" He stooped over to help pick up her notebook and saw it open to the page with Chat's suit design on it.

It had a large "X" in black marker on it.

He gave the notebook back to her, soul in shreds. Her eyes seemed distant and dull, the blue more grey. "Marinette. Are you okay?" She nodded.

"I should be asking you. You look awful." The concern that shown in her eyes made Adrien want to scream. He didn't deserve her compassion. He'd ripped her heart out last night. Part of him wondered if he was giving himself too much credit, but he ignored it. He didn't notice the tears until they dripped off of his cheeks. "Adrien?" Her hand reached up to rub the tears off his face, and it was too much.

"I'm sorry, Pr-Marinette. I have to go." He pushed her away and practically ran to his house. Nathalie was waiting for him when he burst through the front door.

"Adrien? Is everything all right?" He just ran to his room. Closing his door behind him, he stared at the big room. It was so empty and cold, devoid of love. So unlike Marinette's room that smelled like gingersnap and chocolate cookies with buttered croissants hovering somewhere in there. The warmth that floated from the bakery below seemed to ooze with love. He shook his head. He couldn't think about that right now. He had problems to sort out.

He felt like an idiot. He was torn over some girls. Girls that had no idea who he really was. Not for the first time, he wished his mother was here to comfort him, to help him through his stupid feelings.

"Love. So overly complicated. So overly adored by humans." A lump of camembert came flying at Adrien from the laundry hamper. "Try cheese. It's way better." Adrien smiled and ducked.

"Great advice, Plagg. I'm sure cheese will solve all my problems." Plagg came flying out with a gasp of hurt and disbelief.

"You doubt my cheese?" Adrien nodded. "I am hurt. You will never be able to transform again."

"Not sure if I want to." Just then, his phone rang. Nino's number glared up at Adrien. He ignored it and sat down at his computer. He closed out the Ladyblog (first time he had since...forever) and started to research some topics for the project. Maybe Marinette was smart in getting a head start.

He couldn't concentrate. His phone kept on ringing alternating between Alya and Nino. Finally, by Nino's sixth call, Adrien had had enough. He picked up the phone.

"What is it?"

"Man, all you okay? You kind of just bailed on us."

"Ya. Work's been stressful lately and…" Adrien trailed off.

"That's not it. I've never seen you like this, and work is stressful a lot. Please. Let us help."

"Wait. Us? Is Alya with you?" He heard frantic whispering over the phone.

"Listen, Adrien." Alya's voice was quiet and questioning. "If you really feel this strongly about Marinette, you need to tell her how you feel. You can't let fear get in the way." Adrien snorted.

"That's what you think this is about? You think I'm scared of telling Marinette I love her? Well, you need to listen to me. I'm not."

"Well, why haven't you said anything to her?" Both of their voices sounded in unison.

"It's complicated. You guys would have no idea." He sighed. "Give me the weekend. I'll call her or something." Like visit her at night in a skin-tight black leather suit and brush her hair while acting like I don't know her at all. "Thanks for your help but no thanks." He hung up and ran a hand through his hair.

"Plagg, transforme moi." When nothing happened, he looked over at the kwami. He stood there, stationary, arms folded.

"I'm not your get away from your problems. I'm an ancient magical being with powers most people couldn't even dream of having."

"Surprisingly, that is...very intelligent. Wow…" Adrien sat for a second, thinking. "No camembert for a week if I can't transform right now." Plagg's eyes widen, and he groaned.

"Fine. Just this once." Adrien grinned in triumph and completed the transformation.

As he jumped out of the window, he phone started to buzz again.

* * *

Adrien breathed deeply. The fresh air rushed into his lungs, clearing his mind. He clung to the top of the Eiffel Tower, looking out over Paris. He didn't normally get to just enjoy the city like this during the day. For the past several minutes, he'd stood there, watching the people go about on normal, everyday business without the stress of being a superhero on their shoulders. He saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eye and felt the tip shake slightly as his lady landed next to him.

"Pretty beautiful, isn't it?" Adrien turned to the heroine. Her eyes seemed more grey than blue, and her body was tense.

"Ya. It sure is." An awkward silence. "M'lady...look, I'm sorry about yesterday. For everything. I shouldn't have kissed you. I understand if you hate me…" His breath caught as she laid her hand on his.

"Chat, is that really what you think?" He nodded, and she sighed. "I don't hate you. It took me by surprise, that's all. I was a little out of sorts and then you kissed me...I couldn't think straight. I'm sorry if I caused you grief." She kissed him on the cheek.

"Ladybug, do you love me?"

"I'm not prepared to answer that question right now, _chaton_. I do know that I enjoy being around you. That I feel safe around you." She rested her head on his shoulder.

"M'lady?"

"Mh-hmm?"

"You have made me the happiest kitten alive today." She giggled and snuggled closer. Then she paused.

"What about Marinette?" Adrien stiffened.

"I don't know right now." A soothing hand passed through his hair and scratched at his ears.

"That's okay, Chat. Sometimes we don't know. I'm just glad you're at peace."

Adrien felt a weight lift off his chest. Maybe this could all work out.

 **I'm also sorry for such a short chapter.**

 **Let me know how I'm doing! I know where I'm going from here, but if there's anything you're dying to see happen, I'll see if I can squeeze it in somewhere.**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for the hundred followers! In celebration I decided to update early. Yay!**

 **Enjoy!**

The weekend flew by Adrien. He had a couple of photoshoots and several lessons during the day. After the sun went down he had the patrols. He looked forward to them. Ladybug was a little more loose than usual, laughing and talking, getting distracted. Adrien felt lighter every time her eyes shone, every time she laughed at a pun. However, sometimes he would see something in her eyes. A sadness, a pain that reminded him a of girl sitting in her bedroom, waiting to see if maybe he'd come and apologize.

He looked forward to Monday. The pairs would be picked and he'd have something to take his mind off the guilt that came every time he went straight home after patrols.

* * *

Adrien walked into class, and immediately realized that Marinette was already there. Her eyes were brighter than they had been on Friday morning, but they still seemed broken. He sat down quickly to avoid confrontation. Nino walked in and glanced worriedly at Adrien before sitting down.

"So?" Adrien looked up at Nino's quizzical stare.

"So what?"

"Did you call her? Visit her? Order a croissant from her bakery?"

"No." Nino gaped at his friend.

"I saw you the day before you broke. I've never seen you so happy. How could you not have done something!" He shook his head. "Come on, man. Don't tell me it never happened."

"I was busy!"

"Too busy to buy a cupcake?" Adrien opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. "I thought so. Listen-" Nino cut off as the teacher walked in.

"Okay class, today we'll jump right into it. I'm going to tell you who your partner is and then you have the rest of the class period to brainstorm ideas to present. Remember, it's first come, first serve. If someone has already taken your topic, you have to choose a different one. " The class started to chatter, each wondering who would get who. Soon the noise died down. "Okay. First pair: Alix and Kim. Second pair: Rose and Juleka. Third Pair: Alya and Nino. Fourth Pair: Mylène and Ivan. Fifth Pair: Max and Chloe." Adrien turned around and gave an apologetic look to the glaring video-gamer. "Now the sixth pair will actually be a trio. Sabrina, Nathanaёl, and Lila, you three will be working together." A very Marinette-like gasp came from behind Adrien around the same time he figured it out. There were only two people left who hadn't been paired. "The last pair will be Adrien and Marinette. Find your partner or partners, and get to work." Alya was already looming over Adrien before the teacher finished speaking.

"Up up up, slow poke. This is my seat now." Her hands were shaking and her cheeks were a little flushed. Adrien smiled, thinking of how perfect the pairing between Nino and Alya was.

"Okay. Okay. No need to be so pushy." He gathered his things and walked around the desk to sit next to Marinette. As he passed Nino, he leaned over and whispered, "Have fun." Nino elbowed the laughing model before starting to discuss possible ideas. Alya was all over doing an official report on Ladybug and Chat Noir, but Nino just wanted to do something easy like France history or something. Adrien sat down and looked at his new partner.

"Hey, Marinette. Ready to get started?" He wondered if she could see the pain in his eyes. He turned her down one day and was a friend the next. It didn't matter that she didn't know it was him. It still felt wrong. The girl giggled, and his heart beat faster.

"Well, I've kind of already started. I was worried about...you know...Chloe." She jerked her head over to where Max was sitting and looking terrified as Chloe practically yelled at him to be useful.

"Chloe Bourgeois, keep your voice down."

"Yes, ma'am." And she started yelling again.

"So what have you looked at?" Marinette pulled out a sheet of paper. He recognized it from the night when they'd looked through the stories. When he'd turned away and didn't look back.

"My-my...friend and I, w-we looked at different stories. I thought we could do something on the stupidity of this earth." Adrien laughed before realizing that she wasn't stuttering very much. He wondered what the change was.

"That'd be good." He read down the list.

\- UFO being filmed after the aliens were summoned

\- Real life zombies

\- Trees on Mars

The next one was blacked out. Then it just continued.

"What's this one?" He pointed at the blacked out one.

"Oh. Th-that one? I d-decided not to d-do it." She scratched the back of her head. Adrien looked at Nino in loss and saw _him_ lost in whatever he was doing with Alya. His eyes would glance at the reporter every once in a while, a dreamy expression in them. Then she'd punch him or something, and he'd focus again. "They're darling, aren't they?" Adrien looked at Marinette, her head in her hands, looking down on the two who so clearly liked each other.

"Sure are." He leaned over. "Nino, just ask her out already." A hand grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back.

"Adrien! Leave them be." Nino was glaring at Adrien, and Alya was blushing, trying to act busy.

"You're one to talk, Adrien. Why don't you just ask Marinette out?" Now it was Adrien's turn to blush.

"Nino!" He turned to Marinette who was gaping at him. "I have no idea what he's talking about." It was only after he saw hurt flash in her eyes that he wanted to take back what he said.

"Oh come off it, Adrien, you're embarrassing yourself." Nino shook his head and went back to helping Alya.

The rest of the time, Adrien and Marinette teased Alya and Nino, pretending to work when the teacher walked by. A couple of times, either Nino or Alya would have a great come back and either Adrien or Marinette or both would sit back, blushing. Then the teacher stood up.

"Class, we have reached the end of our time. I want you and your partner to exchange phone numbers, addresses, email addresses or whatever you wish to keep in contact. I want your topic picked by tomorrow." The bell rang. "Dismissed." The class quickly emptied with each pair discussing how best to communicate. Adrien got out his phone and handed it to Marinette.

"Here. Put your number in it. I'll text you tonight, and we can work out a meeting time and place. I hope your parents don't mind you staying out late. I'm not free until around 10 tonight." Marinette's hands shook as she entered her number.

"It's okay. That's perfect for me as well." She started to hand back his phone when it slipped and clattered to the floor. "Oh geez. I'm so clumsy." They both bent over to pick it up, their hands meeting. Adrien jerked back his hand faster than Marinette did, his thoughts racing. How was he going to survive an entire project with this girl?

* * *

That day, after school, Adrien was driven to piano. He could hardly focus, and it was driving his teacher mad.

"Look, Adrien, you have to get your head out of the clouds. You're never going to progress if you don't listen."

"I'm sorry, Miss. I had a long week last week." Her eyes softened as she looked at the boy, full of sympathy.

"Okay. I'll be easy on you today. My two conditions are: don't tell your father and try to step it up next week." Adrien nodded and turned back to the instrument, placing his hands in the correct position. He started to play, fingers hitting wrong notes as he missed accidentals and key changes. It started to sound like his life, something that was supposed to be sweet turned sour by a couple of fumbles and mishaps.

* * *

Just before patrol, Adrien texted Marinette.

Adrien - hey. this is adrien

He had to wait barely a second before she texted back

Marinette - adrien! hi! dad said it was okay if we met up at 10 as long as were done by 1145

Adrien - perfect!

He had to try really hard not to type out "purrr-fect."

Marinette - do you just want 2 come over here?

Adrien thought for a second. As much as he didn't want to go over to her house at the same time he usually did (even if he wasn't in costume), he couldn't think of another place that would work for two teenagers at 10 at night, and his house was out of the question.

Adrien - sure. see ya then!

Marinette - ya. u 2

* * *

Adrien sat at the top of the Eiffel Tower after patrol, leaning back, his hands placed out on either side of him. Ladybug sat close to him in near the same position, their arms crossing over each other.

"It's so beautiful tonight." Ladybug sighed in agreement and rested her head on his shoulder. Adrien stiffened but relaxed soon after.

"Sure is." He smiled. "Not as beautiful as you though." He felt her shift in protest, but he wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her in place. "You can't escape that easily." She started to push at him, struggling.

"Chat! Let go of me!"

"Not today, m'lady. I've got you in my grasp, and I'm not letting go." Finally, she gave up, giving him a final punch.

"I hate you."

"Love you, too, bugaboo." They sat in silence for a bit when suddenly, the chime of a nearby church bell started to ring through the air. Adrien didn't really pay attention, subconsciously counting the chimes. When it reached the tenth one, it stopped. Adrien relaxed until he remembered that he had an appointment with Marinette at 10. He unwrapped his arm from around Ladybug and stood up quickly.

"I have to be somewhere. Now." She stood up as well.

"What time is it?"

"Ten." She cursed under her breath.

"I have to be somewhere, too." Her body was facing him, but her head was turned towards the city, her hands fumbling with her yo-yo. On impulse, he reached up and grasped her chin, raising her face so he could look into her eyes.

"Chat?" He shushed her and leaned in. Their lips met gently. It was a chaste kiss, lasting only a couple of seconds before they pulled apart.

"I'll see you around, m'lady." Winking, he started off. Adrien stopped right at the beginning of the park and detransformed picking up his school bag he'd hidden there earlier. He walked to Marinette's in the cool night, thinking of his lady and what he'd have to tell Marinette someday. That he loved Ladybug. That he'd chosen Ladybug. When he arrived at the door, he reached up to knock. His fist had barely touched the door when it flung open. He was faced with the hulking figure of Tom Dupain.

"Welcome, my boy! Marinette is up in her room!" Adrien smiled and headed inside. He was stopped by Sabine who handed him a tray filled with treats and two cups of coffee.

"To keep you two awake." She winked, and Adrien started upstairs, a little overcome with the hospitality. He reached the trap door and realized he couldn't open the door with his hands full.

"Hey, Marinette! I need a little help!" He waited for a second with no response. "Marinette?" He put the tray down and headed up the stairs. A bright flash of light nearly blinded him as he opened the door. "Marinette are you okay?" He heard a sudden flurry of activity before the door opened fully, and Marinette peered down at him.

"Adrien! Sorry I was...in the bathroom." She seemed to hesitate a bit, but he ignored it. He was caught up in her room. It was bare. There were no posters of him at all in the entire room. The temptation to ask her where they were nearly drove him mad. He shook his head and turned back to Marinette.

"Sorry I'm late." It was close to 10:15. She just shook her head.

"It's totally fine." He smiled, glad.

"Your parents sent of treats. Let me go grab them." After the treats were placed on the coffee table, and the pair was seated comfortably on the chaise (neither of them seemed uncomfortable in the least to be sitting so close to each other), the discussing began. They went back and forth between different ideas, topics, opinions, stories. They both unconsciously steered clear of the topic of Chat Noir and Ladybug. It was close to 11:30 when they both were starting to grow tired. The coffee had been finished ages ago, and the effects of the caffeine were starting to wear off. Both of them were yawning. Adrien was slowly stroking Marinette's hair, the familiar habit causing him to ignore the action. Adrien spoke in a sentence punctuated by yawns.

"Well, Princess, we've got about fifteen minutes to make a decision." It took only five seconds for the wheels to start turning.

 **I totally accept the idea that teachers ship their students so I organized the pairs into ships as best I could. I ran into a kink with Chloe and Sabrina so that became a jumbled mush of people. However, everyone else is in their proper place.**

 **Thanks for reading and to everyone who has followed this fic. I'll be updating on Friday as per usual, and then I'll have just one chapter to go.**

 **Please review! Tell me how I did and if there's anything you're dying to have happen though everything is pretty much planned out. If there's anything I can do to become a better writer, let me know!**

 **Until Friday!**


	9. Chapter 9

Adrien's hand froze, mid-stroke. His mind frantically ran through all the excuses on why he would have called her princess but couldn't find one that would work. Maybe she'd shove it off. Maybe she was too tired to pick up on the slip. All hope was crushed when he felt Marinette stiffen beneath his hands. His heart started to beat frantically, and he hoped she couldn't hear it. However, she didn't point out the slip, and he slowly relaxed.

"What did you say?" He'd relaxed too soon.

"Uhh...I said we should pick a topic soon. We've only got 15 minutes left."

"No. What did you call me?" He looked up at her quizzical stare.

"N-nothing. Did I say something weird?"

"Adrien, you called me Princess." Terror gripped him. He had said it. There had been that slight chance that he'd imagined it.

"Oh. I did?" She nodded. Hope and concern and surprise glistened in her eyes. Adrien said the first thing that came to mind. "I used to call Chloe that when we were little." He shrugged, nonchalantly. "I guess I'm just really tired." He did not expect Marinette's reply.

"So I remind you of Chloe?" Now her eyes just shimmered in sadness and a hope lost.

"No! Marinette! That's not what I mean! You are...so much more than Chloe could ever be. No matter how hard she tries, she will never be even half the person you are. It wasn't you that reminded me of her. It was the situation that reminded me of the sleepovers we had together." He was feeling pretty good about his cover-up.

"Did you stroke her hair then, too?" His fingers were still tangled in her hair. He tried to pull them out quickly, but her hair got caught on his ring. "Ouch! Adrien!"

"I'm sorry. My ring…" Just then, his hand slipped out, ring dangling precariously on his finger.

"Huh. I swear I've seen that ring before." She eyed him meaningly and he knew he'd lost. He still wasn't going to give up the fight.

"I never take it off. It's possible you've seen it before at school or something." Marinette shook her head, her hair bouncing.

"Or on the finger of a famous superhero." Her eyes seemed to dance with laughter as Adrien hung his head. "There's no point in denying it. You've always been a horrible liar." She laughed, and he soon followed suit, though a little hesitantly.

"Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag now." Suddenly, his laughing stopped.

"Adrien? What's wrong?" A hand gently touched his shoulder.

"Ladybug. She'll kill me that I let slip my identity. She's worked so hard to keep it secret."

"Well, I think she'll be really happy to know that her partner is actually her crush." Adrien's head jerked up.

"I don't want her to love me for being Adrien. I want her to love me for me. Chat. I want her to love the Chat part of me!" His eyes flashed. "You wouldn't understand!"

"I think I understand more than you realize. You're afraid she won't see that you're more than just a model, that you're a person." His anger was forgotten in a wave of confusion. "Adrien, I don't love you because you're popular and handsome. I love you because you're kind and always thinking of someone before yourself." She reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. His eyes followed the motion, catching on the small, silver earrings. Something clicked in his mind, and he understood.

"M'lady?"

"Oh, _chaton._ What took you so long?"

* * *

The next morning, Marinette was at school nearly half an hour early. Adrien was already there, waiting for her.

"Hey, Princess. You ready?"

"As ready as ever." They bumped fists and walked into the school together. Almost nobody was there making it perfect for them to execute their plan. They walked into their first class. The teacher looked up, surprised.

"Can I help you?" Marinette smiled.

"Yes. We would like to pick our topic."

"Already?" Now it was the teacher's turn to smile. Adrien stepped forward, brushing slightly against Marinette.

"We don't want anyone to take our idea."

"Well, I guess that's fine with me. What would you like to present?"

"We would like to present on Ladybug…"

"...and Chat Noir," Marinette finished. The teacher didn't look in the least surprised.

"Okay. No one else has come to me for that so it's yours." The two looked at each other, elated.

"Great!" They walked out, laughing and talking. Alya and Nino, who had been walking towards the classroom (and may or may not have had the same idea as Marinette and Adrien) stopped in their tracks.

"What the heck happened to you two?" Alya was grinning like an idiot.

"Oh, Adrien finally confessed his undying affection for me, and I just couldn't refuse those big kitten eyes." She batted her eyes at Adrien who kissed her knuckles.

"I knew I had a way with the ladies." Nino's mouth dropped open.

"Just like that? A little discussion about a school project and all of the sudden you're a couple?!"

"Well, I wouldn't say we're a couple just yet." Adrien seemed thoughtful. "We still haven't gone on our first date. What if I take you on a private tour through the Agreste building? You can see the summer line before it's officially introduced."

"Really? You would do that for me? _Chaton_ , I'm touched!" She kissed him on the cheek.

"Okay, you two lovebirds, you know you're overdoing it. Excuse me, but we have some business to attend to." Alya grabbed Nino's hand and dragged him through the classroom door. As soon as they vanished through the door, Adrien and Marinette burst out laughing.

"Did you see there faces?" Adrien nodded in agreement, laughing too hard to speak. They had just calmed down when Nino and Alya walked out of the classroom, looking dejected.

"Man, what happened to you two?" Alya just glared at Adrien. Marinette whispered something into his ear, and they both started laughing again.

"What? What did she say?" Alya seemed very indignant.

"We stole your idea, didn't we? I thought that you and Nino had decided not to do it on Ladybug and Chat Noir." Alya turned her glare to Marinette.

"We changed our minds."

"Oh, Adrikins!" The group turned around, the laughter gone as Chloe ran up the hall. Adrien instantly stepped closer to Marinette, wrapping his arm around her. "What are you doing with trash like her?" She clucked her tongue and tried to unwrap his arm from the noirette. "You should be hanging out with people more on your level."

"I know." Chloe looked up in surprise. "Marinette is too far above me for me to stand a chance with her. You, however, are so far below her that I can't see where you stand." Chloe's eye twitched.

"You know what? I'm done with you! We're through, Adrien! I don't know how you thought you could get away with a comment like that!" She started to stomp off.

"I didn't know we were a thing!" Chloe stopped.

"You aren't going to fight for me, Adripoo?"

"Not when you give me nicknames like that." Chloe looked up at Adrien and Marinette, eyes glistening. Then she ran off, sobbing.

"You know, I feel kind of bad for her." Everyone turned to Marinette. "Some people just act a certain way to feel accepted. When you reject their attempts, it's like being double rejected." She shrugged. "I had some experience in grade school." Adrien smiled at her.

"Well, you've always got friends here." He checked his watch. "We've still got twenty minutes left. Want to go get some breakfast?"

"Sure thing!" They walked off leaving their friends with their mouths open once again.

* * *

Adrien and Marinette walked confidently into class, each holding as cup of coffee. Marinette was laughing loudly.

"Ms. Dupain-Cheng! Mr. Agreste!" The two paused. "If you're going to walk in late, please don't disturb my class."

"Of course, Miss. We apologize." They sat next to each other, Alya's seat left empty as she'd gone to sit by Nino.

"As I was saying, the option of doing a report on our city's superheroes is out of the question as Marinette and Adrien have already picked the idea. However, there are plenty of choices, and if you and your partner can't figure anything out, I will assign you a topic." Chloe was in shock that her claim to Ladybug and Chat Noir was shot down. Marinette and Adrien high-fived. "The time is yours to discuss your project but be warned. This is the last class period you'll have to work on it."

Adrien and Marinette spent the rest of the hour conversing quietly on what to put in their project to come off as not knowing too much, but also to inform everyone of the truth of Ladybug and Chat Noir.

This was going to be great!

* * *

That Friday, Adrien did indeed take Marinette to the Agreste building. She was ecstatic to meet all the designers and models and have conversations dealing with different fabrics. She'd brought along her sketchbook and was writing notes and asking others for advice. Adrien smiled, trailing along as she jumped about. Towards the end of the day, Adrien took her to a small room.

"Last stop before we head home and patrol." He rapped his knuckles on the door. "I had a word with Nathalie. She thought it was a good idea and set it up for us." It was then that Marinette noticed the name on the door.

Gabriel Agreste.

"Adrien. That-that's your dad's office."

"Ya. He really wanted to meet you." Marinette smiled and hugged Adrien tightly.

"You're the best!"

A deep voice came from behind the door. "Come in." Marinette clutched her sketchbook to her chest, nervous. Adrien winked at her for encouragement, and she walked through the door.

* * *

Adrien waited impatiently while Marinette spoke to his father. It felt forever, but that was probably because she was spending more time in the office than time he had seen his father in the past week. Finally, she came out. She was practically glowing, eyes shining with pride.

"The Agreste fashion show that's being held in two months?" He nodded showing he understood. "He's inviting Ladybug and Chat Noir, and he wants me to make the dress and suit I sketched last week!"

 **Don't forget to review! Tell me what I can do better or what you like.**

 **I will probably write a little bit more than I had originally planned so next week may or may not be the last chapter. Let me know if there's anything you really would like to see happen.**

 **Thank you all for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

Adrien watched Marinette race around the room, taking in everything. The material, the tools, the accessories.

"It's perfect!" He smiled. He loved making his lady happy. "Thank you thank you thank you!" She finished exploring and ran at Adrien, wrapping her arms around him and nearly squeezing the life out of him. "Okay, where do I start?" Letting go, she sat at her desk.

"I suggest at the beginning." He picked up her sketchbook and opened it to the page that held the drawing of her dress. Leaving her to her devices, he looked around the room. It _was_ perfect. It held everything Marinette would need to complete the projects.

Two days beforehand, Adrien had asked Nathalie for a room that Marinette could work in. Located in the main Agreste building, it made certain that Marinette could work effectively and quickly.

"Adrien, look at me. This is serious."

"Huh? Sorry I wasn't listening." He turned around to face the noirette.

"I noticed. Listen, you're the son of the man putting on this fashion show. You have to go to it."

"Ya. So?"

"Doesn't Chat Noir also have to be there?" Adrien's eyes widened.

"Uh-oh." He plopped down into the chair opposite of Marinette. "Do you think I could…"

"Shhh…I have to work. Go figure out your own problems." She smirked.

"Loving the support, Princess." He kissed her cheek and walked out. "I'll finish up the project."

"You do that." Her reply was distracted.

Adrien left the building and pulled his coat tighter around him against the cold. His mind was in turmoil, trying to figure out what to do. He couldn't say he wanted to spend the night with Marinette. Gabriel would just say that it was a perfect date. Adrien had already talked to Nathalie about taking Marinette who was excited to go so he couldn't say she wanted to do something else.

He got home and finished writing his portion of the interview with Chat. The project was due tomorrow, and he was super proud of what he and Marinette had been able to accomplish. It had taken countless hours to make sure it sounded like the supers had been talking to two teenagers who were doing a school project.

He started to work on studying for finals, constantly thinking of different schemes to get himself and Marinette out of the fashion show. He couldn't go out of the city. He couldn't just not want to go.

Then an idea started to form. He didn't know how well it would work. He didn't know if it would work. It all depended on how well he could act.

* * *

"Finally, we asked them if there was anything else they would like to say." Marinette looked at Adrien.

"Chat told us to (and I quote) 'stay away from my lady and stay _paw_ -some.'" The entire class groaned. The fake interview had been filled with puns of the most awful kind only allowed by Marinette when he'd wanted Chat to say something sickly sweet and romantic.

"And Ladybug told us that it's not just the Lucky Charm that saves the city. It's also the pun-crazy, lazy, and most definitely amazing Chat Noir. There wouldn't be a city to save without the cat. Three cheers for Chat Noir!" The class seemed a little surprised by the statement. Adrien had been against it, but Marinette hated how much he was underrated. After the cheers that made Adrien grin like crazy, the duo said their last line together.

"And don't forget to stay Miraculous." Their classmates erupted into applause. Behind them, the teacher stood up. Their Power Point display ended as she stepped forward.

"Well done, you two." Holding up her hands, she started to speak. The noise died down. "Are there any questions about Chat Noir and the Miraculous Ladybug?" The switch in order of the names was not lost on anyone. Silence. Finally, Nino spoke up.

"No, man. That was perfect. Three cheers for these two." Again, cheers filled the classroom walls.

Marinette's grin grew to match Adrien's.

* * *

As they walked out of the class, Alya and Nino came up between the two who were quietly discussing the Agreste Fashion Show. Adrien had perfected his plan, and now he was trying to get Marinette to agree. Nino gave Adrien a high-five.

"Dude, that was awesome! You know more than anyone, even Alya!" Alya glared at him before giving Marinette a tight hug.

"He's right. When did you talk to them?" Marinette smiled widely.

"I caught Chat Noir after an Akuma attack and asked him to meet Adrien and me the next day in that theater you talked to Ladybug. They didn't have to charge their Miraculouses so we had a lot of time." She shrugged. "It was easy, really."

"Girl, I've wanted to do that for forever and a day. Can you hook me up next time?"

"You aren't satisfied?" Alya shook her head. "I guess I can try." Alya squealed and gave Marinette an even tighter hug. "Also, you can have the interview. Ladybug said you could put it on the Ladyblog." The sheet of paper was almost instantly taken from her hands.

"I can't thank you enough."

"Don't thank me. Thank Ladybug and Chat Noir." Class started as Alya nearly exploded from excitement.

* * *

Adrien stopped off at Marinette's after school to finish discussing the plans. Everything was in place.

* * *

School ended quickly. Friends bid _adieu_ until the next year, made Christmas plans, and made sure they could contact each other. Marinette was putting her finishing touches on the costumes, Alya and Nino were trying to figure out what she was doing nearly 24/7, and Adrien's schedule was as busy as ever. He spent every free moment with Marinette, patrolling, annoying her, or just hanging out. Every once in a while he'd brush her hair just for the sake of old times.

The day before the fashion show was a big one. Marinette took her finished designs into Gabriel who had applauded them. Adrien still hadn't seen them though he'd asked several times. Ladybug and Chat Noir had officially been invited.

All that was left was for the duo to be allowed to miss an event so big that people all over the world were coming to it. Adrien was currently outside the room that held the superheroes' costumes. Marinette was going to add a small detail to his suit.

"Come on. Just a peek!"

"No. Adrien, you saw it all when you watched me draw it."

"But that...that was a drawing! What about the actual thing?!" Marinette just smirked and slid into the room.

A solid eternity later (five minutes) she exited. "Everything is in place. You ready?" He nodded.

That day Nathalie found him coughing his brains out. He told her he was fine, but she thought he felt warm. Just to be on the safe side, he was confined to bed.

Marinette smiled when she found out that night on patrol.

* * *

The next day, Adrien woke up feeling awful. When Nathalie found him, she also found a huge pile of used tissues surrounding his bed. His nose was swollen and red from blowing, and he was still warm.

"Adrien!" He just smiled weakly and coughed.

"Hey, Nathalie." She went to his bathroom, grabbed a wet towel, and came back, placing it on his head. After a couple of minutes, she took a deep breath.

"Adrien, I can't let you go to the fashion show tonight. You're too sick." Adrien's crestfallen face made her heart stop.

"I guess Marinette can go alone. Right?" He could tell she was slowly breaking.

"No. I'll be with her." Adrien smiled and blew his nose. "I'll call her after I tell your father about your unfortunate predicament."

"Thanks Nathalie. You're the best." Seconds after she walked out to tell Gabriel, he let out a howl of laughter. Calling up Marinette, he told her the good news.

"She bought it?!"

"I told you I was a good actor." Marinette laughed.

"Okay. I'll wait for the call. See you in a couple of hours." Sure enough, two hours later, Marinette burst into his room.

"Adrien! I heard you were sick! Do you need anything? Do you need me to stay here with you?" Adrien was smothered by her hug, and then she started to feed him some soup that had been brought up.

"Marinette, I need you to go to the fashion show without me. I don't want to spoil your night. Plus, Ladybug and Chat Noir are modeling your pieces. Please."

"No, Adrien. I'm staying with you." Honey and concern dripped thickly off her voice. Adrien could tell she was trying too hard, but Nathalie still hadn't caught on.

"Marinette…" He was cut off by a bout of coughs.

"Adrien. I'm staying. That's final." And that's how the two teenagers got out of going to the huge fashion show.

* * *

Nathalie found the two asleep when she went to check on them. Believing that everything was perfect, she whispered a goodnight, and left the house with Gabriel. Immediately after the car drove away, Adrien and Marinette got out of bed. Adrien cleaned himself up. It had been exhausting keeping up the pretense. They transformed at leapt out of Adrien's home, leaping across the house-tops towards the biggest event of the year in the entire fashion industry.

They found themselves walking in amidst reporters and fans of every kind. Adrien took it in stride but Marinette found herself slightly overwhelmed. The small crowd that appeared after Akuma fights was nothing compared to this. However, after several minutes, she grew more comfortable. Adrien beamed as he saw her talking to a little girl, letting her try out the yo-yo and making all her dreams come true.

Towards the end, they came face to face with Gabriel. He smiled and nodded his head respectfully.

"Welcome, Ladybug and Chat Noir. I hope that you find everything to your liking. Later tonight the official show will begin, and you will be shown your outfits. The designer, Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng, apologizes that she cannot be here tonight. An...emergency cropped up." Marinette smiled.

"Thank you, Mr. Agreste. We extend our forgiveness to Miss Dupain-Cheng and hope that everything turns out well." Adrien took her arm.

"Well, m'lady. Let's not just stand here." And he led her out into the fray.

They spent the first few hours just having a good time. They danced. They ate. They had their first taste of champagne. (Well, Marinette's first taste. Adrien had tried some not too long ago after begging Nathalie for some.) Alya freaked at meeting the two without the worry of the transformation wearing off. They congratulated her on the Ladyblog and told her to keep on doing what she was doing.

Soon it was time for the show. New designers and models, seasoned designers and models, everyone was here to show off their talents and hopefully get noticed by someone. Marinette and Adrien were shown to the dressing rooms. They both insisted on getting dressed themselves due to their hidden identities. Their plea was reluctantly accepted.

Adrien couldn't believe it. Marinette had really outdone herself. The tuxedo had a tail-coat jacket with notched lapels, the tips decorated with elaborate gold designs. The shirt was a dark green, matching his paw print color. The vest was gold as was the pocket square which had a ladybug crawling on it. He smiled and slipped into it. He spotted the ears and tail and laughed, attaching those in their proper positions. Tightening the mask, he looked in the mirror. Everything was perfect except...he mussed up his hair a bit before stepping out.

Immediately he was whisked away for makeup and hair styling. He wouldn't let anyone touch the ears or the mask so they worked around the two features. They finally released him and set him up near the runway. He messed with his hair again before hearing a small someone clear her voice behind him. Spinning, he caught sight of his stunning Princess.

Her dress hadn't changed much from the original design. The sweetheart-neckline no longer had the embroidery. Instead, that ringed the bottom of the dress that reached about mid-thigh. The red seemed to shimmer and black polkadots covered it from top to bottom. The sleeves hung loosely off the shoulder, and he couldn't help but stare.

"Wow. Princess, you've really outdone yourself." She blushed slightly.

"Kitty, stop. We're about to go on. I can't go on like a tomato!" Slowly, the corners of his mouth twitched up mischievously. He edged closer so that their faces were inches from each other.

"Is this helping?" Her blush nearly matched her dress as she pushed him away.

"Chat! Stop it!" He got real serious real fast.

"Do you think the Kwami Charm will work?" He held up his ring that had a faint edge of color on it signifying a small amount of magic being used.

"You don't trust my kwami?"

"I trust her, but I'm scared. What if it's too much for them to only siphon that much energy? What if Plagg thinks it's funny to slip?!" Three days earlier, their kwamis had explained that only magic kept everyone from knowing who they were. The Kwami Charm could be activated for emergencies like this. However, it was not recommended.

"Kitty, relax." She straightened his bow-tie and pecked his cheek. "It'll be fine." Someone announced their entrance. Nathalie came behind them and shoved them on the runway. Adrien's hand found Marinette's as they stepped out of the shadows.

An instant hush fell over the crowd. No one had ever seen the two heroes out of their regular costumes. No one had ever seen such stunning work. Then the room erupted. Someone had noticed the clasped hands.

They sauntered down the runway. Well, Adrien sauntered. Marinette kind of shuffled. They reached the end and started the turn around when Adrien grabbed Marinette's other arm, pulling her to him.

" _Chaton,_ what do you think you're doing?" His hand cupped her face.

"Why, stealing a kiss from my Princess." Their lips met none too gently.

Neither of them noticed the noise of the fans and the media.

 **And there you have it! It's finished!**

 **I would like to apologize for the late update. A family emergency came up.**

 **Storylady35 did some beautiful fanart for Adrien's suit on DeviantArt. I suggest you go check it out. Her username there is the same as her username here.**

 **Thank you all for sticking with the story! Hopefully you'll stick around! If there's a fic you've wanted to see but haven't found it, send me the prompt. I'll see if I can work with it.**

 **Don't forget to review!**


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